Monday, August 26, 2013

The weekend started out with Caelan discovering that there were some wild parrots living in a neighbor's tree. It was very exciting. Such lovely little guys. Apparently at some point in the past they were "the in pet" and people bought pairs of them, as they grew bored of them they set them free and now there are a couple colonies of these sweet little birds around the Phoenix metro area. We have seen them at ASU and at a park but never just in our neighborhood. Hopefully we will see them again.

Saturday was to be spent in northern Arizona going for a lovely hike in Sedona, but the weather forecast called for loads of rain, a 90% chance of rain and cool temperatures. So we decided to stay home... we cleaned and scrubbed and folded laundry and waited for a nice big rain that was suppose to come from the north and hit us here in the valley... NOTHING! Apparently it didn't even rain too much in Sedona. Very disappointing, as I really wanted to get out of town for a day and go on a nice hike. We went to Ikea instead, not really the same, but you do get in some leg work walking around that giant store, and the kids bounced on every bed and sofa, so they got their wiggles out.

Sunday we had brunch with my parents, we hadn't seen them since before they left on their 5 week adventure to Oregon, it was nice catching up. Then in the late afternoon we headed to a friends how for a fun multi-family gathering for dinner, drinks and loads of conversation. We brought the teenagers, who sadly, just wanted to go home, so we left a bit early. Still, it was a lovely time.

I am so grateful for our community, the large one of the Phoenix-metro area for so many opportunities, and for our smaller one of homeschool friends. I am grateful we got to spend some time with my parents this weekend. For the lovely cooler temps we had the last couple of days and for the bits of rain we got in the middle of the night (either that or the neighbor was spraying a hose in our yard), and for fun evenings with my honey watching bad movies on the computer.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Joining Ginny from Small Things for Yarn Along and Nicole from Frontier Dreams for KCCO.

The wrap is coming along slowly but surely. I am about halfway though my yarn, so I am about halfway through the wrap. lol
I have been making a list of all the holiday knits I have been thinking about. I know it is still August, but since I have slowed down in my knitting I figure I need to start now to have time to get the projects done. And I have a couple big ones, so... you know, gotta start soonish. My plan is to get going on them as soon as I finish this wrap. Hopefully by the end of next week.

Still reading Simplicity Parenting, slowly... but in a good way, really absorbing it all and working on what it all really means for this family.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Joining Taryn from Wooly Moss Roots for Gratitude Sunday. Sunday's heartfelt tradition. A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful. A list of gratitudes.

~ Laying in bed knitting, while watching "Mamma Mia" with Fiona and eating salted brownie bites
~ Finding my camera after it had been missing all week
~ Getting the poor dead garden pulled up
~ Cleaning out the chicken yard
~ Ice cold water
~ Freecycling stuff, people are so happy to get free goodness

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Joining Taryn from Wooly Moss Roots for Gratitude Sunday. Sunday's heartfelt tradition. A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful. A list of gratitudes.

~ A clean house, and I mean all of it clean... ahhhhhh
~ Finding time to knit
~ My dear husband deciding to quit the doctorate program. It was a huge decision for him, but after much thought on his part he decide that he didn't want to miss us, our life while he went back to school right now.
~ Weekly meal planning, heading into week three and just loving it
~ My dear sweet Logan being almost 100% again
~ Lovely flowers in the house
~ My kids, for pushing me to be a better person every day
~ Chocolate
~ Making plans for a "new" back yard (as much as we can because we are renters)
~ Other secret plans
~Logan playing big, giant, sweeping pieces on the piano

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

The camera just does not do justice to this yummy yarn. It is Lion Brand Nature's Choice Organic Cotton in Almond. It is like knitting with clouds. I started out wanting to knit this, but then decided to do my own thing with that pattern as an inspiration. It will be so cozy, and because I live in Arizona, just enough for a cool fall or winter evening... since we get so few really cold ones.

And I pulled this off the bookshelf AGAIN. I so much need it right now, and so I am diving in and enjoying the swim.

Monday, August 5, 2013

This weekend was full of laziness, the good kind. Naps, simple yummy dinners, Sis and Derek over on Sunday. I swung by Joann's to pick up some yarn for a new knitting project, a project for ME! I watched "Waking Ned Divine" and read a wee bit. Mike took Rowan to the park to try and fly his kite, but sadly there was no breeze what so ever, although Rowan ran his little legs off trying to get that kite in the air.
Dessert on Sunday was heavenly... this yumminess.
My kind of weekend.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Joining Taryn from Wooly Moss Roots for Gratitude Sunday. Sunday's heartfelt tradition. A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful. A list of gratitudes.

~ I am oh, so grateful for our mini vacation up north, it was such a wonderful recharge
~ to my oldest daughter and her friend for coming and caring for the cat and hens while we were gone for a few days
~ post cards from my parents while they are away for 6 weeks on their Oregon adventure, the boys love getting updates in the mail
~ Mike and Logan making music together
~ getting the knitting bug back, I have such a great project in the works
~ fruit. wonderful, wonderful fruit
~ rereading Simplicity Parenting
~ feeling motivated again to take care of business
~ finding a GREAT midwife

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Our first full day in Show Low found us at Fool Hollow Lake. We just love this place, especially the little swampy/mucky off to the side part that no one else goes too. Lots of tall meadow grasses, mud, rocks to toss in the lake, logs to float on, flowers, about a million grasshoppers, and loads of fun. Personally I think Rowan loves this place best of all, he takes his shoes off and is in the water straight away, then wanders through the mud and grass searching for treasures (rocks, sticks, any sort of shinny do-dad). Mike took the boys on a wee walk about up the rocker side of the lake and left Fiona and I to bake in the sun and have me-milks. And bake we did, I was pretty well burnt to a crisp. Shoulders, back of the neck and my scalp are just flaming hot and red and sore has heck... 3 days later. Still a honey of a day.

Rowan's feet in Fool Hollow Lake

Rowan adventuring around the lake

Sagan with the fish shaped fishing lure we found

Fiona Rosy picking flowers

Caelan getting ready to float on the log

Fiona, very serious about that piece of grass

Sagan meditating with the grasshoppers

Pretty flowers

Giant clouds

On the second full day Mike found a sweeet little one mile loop trail that was full of signs full of information about the Rim country, wildlife, trees, flowers, and ancient peoples who use to live in the area. Super easy walk, with, seriously, the best show of wild life we have ever had in one mile! We saw a rattle snake (the first I have ever seen in the wild!), horny toads, a tree frog, about 1000 lizards, and a deer (that ran past us about 10 yards away!). Sadly I am so slow with the camera I didn't really catch much of the really awesome stuff.

one trees twisted branches

alligator juniper and a douglas fur next to each other... very rare

boys watching the rattle snake slither past

pretty flowers

checking for more rattle snakes

wee little frog (can you see him??)

old dirt road used in the mid to late 1800's for travel between forts!

crossing a bridge

Fiona checking out the baby horny toad

Since we finished up the hike in the late morning, I took the kids to the park near the "Cabin". Had a great time, despite being a tasty snack for the mosquitoes. We even found a place were some of the local kids (we are assuming) we having fun building with the thinned trees.

Fiona running through the clover

sun peaking through the clouds

Logan (YES! Logan) and Caelan swinging

Caelan cloud watching

Fiona running off with Rowan's shoe

Fiona trying to move a log

animal skull found at "log cabin" site.

Our last day was spent cleaning up and packing. We left about 10:30 am and stopped off in Payson to have a picnic lunch in a big, green, city park. Sadly, I left the camera in the van, as there was much rolling down of hills, tree climbing and attempts at coaxing a squirrel out of a tree.
I think the best part of the whole trip, though, was taking the kids outside to see the Milkyway. They had never seen it before. Last year it was cloudy every night, and although we go camping, it is always in a camp ground which is practically lit up like a big city, very few stars to see. Living in a major city, we only get to see the biggest and brightest stars on any given night, and although Slow Low has city lights, they are very few. It made me a bit sad, actually, to think that my kids very rarely see the stars, when I was growing up I got to see the stars often, with no city lights at all to interfere... just a big round full moon. So many stars, that I remember once just feeling out of breath and a bit scared, so many stars, that they seemed to over flow the sky. I haven't seen that in decades. Something Mike and I need to remedy very, very soon.
I have been toying with maybe, just maybe, planning a two week trip next summer, it would be mostly the kids and I since Mike can't take be gone from work for two straight weeks... it would be a pretty amazing adventure.